2024 Titleist Vokey SM10 Review

[Nikhil]

Tried out the SM10 wedges at a Titleist demo at our golf course this morning.
Very impressed with the spin and control I was able to get with green side chipping.

Really liked the 12D bounce on the 56 wedge I was using. Really easy to move through the turf specially on tight lies.




.

 

[hofstbr]

Had my Vokey fitting last Friday for the Vokey Experience in a couple weeks. We'd had quite a bit of rain here the past couple of days, and I knew that we might do most of the fitting off of mats using the Vokey fitting app. That was indeed the case. I met my fitter, Andrew Saupe the regional Titleist fitter, a few minutes before our scheduled time. We did some small talk and he asked about my game, where I play, general getting to know my golf game. He then had me take as much time as I needed to warm up. I did some light stretching and half swings working into full swings eventually. He had me start by hitting my 7 iron. This was for him to get a baseline on my overall swing and ball path.

Then we started with wedges. He had me hit my current gap wedge (48deg). He then had me hit my current 60deg wedge, on older Vokey. That was for gapping purposes. We talked at length about my club options. I'd gone into the fitting expecting to replace my gap wedge along with a 54 and 60, which is my current setup. His recommendation based upon my distances, was to keep my existing 48deg gap, and do a 52, 56 and 60 wedges. We talked about the rest of my bag during this discussion and focused on my 4 iron which I almost never hit. From an overall bag perspective, he thought getting rid of the 4 iron and adding the three wedges would give me more flexibility. Part of this discussion was answering some questions in the fitting app. Think of the online Vokey tool, but taken to a more in-depth level with more granularity. The app works in conjunction with Trackman and uses swing data to and your inputs to recommend different wedges. He showed me everything on-screen as he was doing it.

Then we really started hitting the new SM10s. I hit several shots with 8 and 12 deg bounces with the 52 in the F grind (only grind available on a 52). Then we hit several 56deg options in different bounces and grinds and a couple of different shafts. Finally, we hit different combinations in the 60 as well. With the 56 and 60, we also opened up the face for some lob shots. Based on the swing data that Trackman collects and the inputs we completed about my game, the app then recommended the 3 different wedges with a % match to the inputs about my game. The 52 recommendation was clearly the 8 deg bounce and we both agreed that I hit that better than the 12. The other two clubs offered choices that were closer, but still with a preference. At this point, we took the 56 and 60 club options to the chipping green area and did some bunker work. The sand was pretty wet from all the rain, but we still got good results. After the bunker, we did some chipping around the green as well. The bunker and chipping work confirmed what the app had recommended as the best fits for my game.

In the end, I ended up with the nickel finish with 52.08 in F grind, 56.10 in S grind, and 60.10 in S grind all in the standard Vokey wedge flex shaft and all at + 1/2". The whole process went about 90 minutes we but talked alot, some of which wasn't relevant to the fitting. In the end, I'm very happy with the fitting and use of the app. He was very knowledgeable about Titleist and offered some swing advice, particularly in the bunkers with the wet sand. I'm thinking about irons next year and if Titleist is in the running I'll definitely have Andrew do a fitting.

 

[Pops]

What is everyone’s preferred finish now that many have been able to see them? My fitter said that the nickel finish has been the most popular with his customers.

I would more than likely go nickel. Might get a chance in the next few days to get my hands on them.

 

[Tenputt]

Somehow, I left my lob wedge at the indoor practice facility I frequent and had no lob wedge when I was on the course. @GolfFest let me use his Vokeys. I can confirm that the T grind does not work for me at all, but the M grind was wonderful. I am glad that I was fit into two M grinds for the Vokey experience.

 

[GolfFest]

Somehow, I left my lob wedge at the indoor practice facility I frequent and had no lob wedge when I was on the course. @GolfFest let me use his Vokeys. I can confirm that the T grind does not work for me at all, but the M grind was wonderful. I am glad that I was fit into two M grinds for the Vokey experience.

I think you’ll like the M when you get them in the right lofts.

I’m considering M for the lob wedge this next time around instead of the lowest bounce option.

 

[hedley_lamarr08]

Clipped a couple of these today at DSG and personally didn't feel any difference than my SM9 58 degree. Not as soft as the Ping s159 or Mizuno T24. Results were good.. theres a reason they are popular but this one isn't earth shattering to me

 

[SkiBumGolfer]

I'll start off by saying awesome review @Jman. I am late in reading it, but I found in my fitting yesterday the same that you did regarding progressive CG to flatten things, and class leading spin. Read on, dear friends...

I set up a fitting at my usual facility (Sittler Golf in Sinking Spring, PA) with Michael Parker from the Titleist Fit Crew. I said back tail end of last year that I would get fitted when the SM10 came out, and combine that promise with some recent wedge struggles and enough rounds under the belt this year, I felt the time was right to make it happen. We did it yesterday and I'm really pleased with the results.

TL;DR: I ended up fitting into and purchasing SM10's in the nickel finish in 52-12F and 58-14K (bent 1* strong) configurations, both bent 1* flat, with KBS Tour Stiff shafts and Lamkin Crossline Cord grips. I'm coming from SM9's chrome in 52-12F and 56-10S with stock DG shafts.

We started with a quick review of my game, setup and goals. I shared that I don't currently feel I'm a great wedge player, and that I try to keep the ball on the ground whenever possible (putting, rolling chips or low punch pitches). I also shared that I am not currently carrying a lob wedge and don't feel like I need it in my game, as I don't like to full swing sub sand wedge so I don't need the gapping down there, and I have a tendency to catch wedges fat and/or not hit them confidently so I often leave the lob wedge well short. I also like having the TSR2+ in there as another tee option / for additional gas on attacking par 5's. So our initial thought was to go in assuming a 52/56 setup and adjust from there.

He had me hit a few full, pitch and open face pitch shots with my clubs, then the same with the SM10's he was baselining, with stock setups. This established my delivery on these type of shots, which is neutral to slightly shallow, tending slightly shallower on the pitches than on the full shots. The fit tool recommended the 52-56 setup with 12F bounce/grind - we were seeing good distance gapping and launch angles, lower than my SM9's which was great - and then we headed out to the pitching and sand area to confirm some things.

I hit a few full shots off the grass where he confirmed that a higher bounce option is ideal for those shots, combating my tendency to get them high on the face at times. Then over to the pitching and sand area. We hit some open face pitches over a bunker with the 56 which was working out well, but I tended to fat them a bit as a miss then overcompensate with a thinny. He then handed me the 58-14K to see what happened and I was clipping it PERFECTLY. Crisp with plenty of spin on those open face shots.

In the bunker, he gave me a little mini-lesson first as I had shared I have very low confidence in the bunkers. I'll share more on that in another thread, but it really helped. Cut to the wedges, I started with the 56-12F and it was better than my wedge but I still had a tendency to dig it and not swing hard enough due to low confidence. He handed me the 58-14K and it was night and day. Everything was at least coming out of the trap, and I hit several truly good bunker shots. It's been a while since I could say that. He said the K grind is supposed to be the "ultimate sand wedge" and I can see why.

Lastly, we went back inside to the launch monitor to try one more thing. He plugged the KBS Tour in my irons into the 52* wedge and had me hit it. It worked beautifully - contact was better, spin was better and the weight blended much better with my irons. He also liked the idea of a slightly lighter weight for bunker shots, as it might encourage me to put a little more speed through the ball as that's my biggest issue. Lastly we just settled on grips, finish and details and we were all set.

So in a couple weeks, I'll have a new wedge setup in hand! Michael was a great fitter and this wedge fitting really dove in deep to how I actually use wedges, turf conditions, and my strengths and shortcomings to arrive at a good setup. Highly recommend Titleist's wedge fitting to anyone who wants to really dial in their setup. I'm sure I'll have more to report once I get them in hand as to how it's working out in practice, but I'm optimistic.

 

[Jman]

I'll start off by saying awesome review @Jman. I am late in reading it, but I found in my fitting yesterday the same that you did regarding progressive CG to flatten things, and class leading spin. Read on, dear friends...

I set up a fitting at my usual facility (Sittler Golf in Sinking Spring, PA) with Michael Parker from the Titleist Fit Crew. I said back tail end of last year that I would get fitted when the SM10 came out, and combine that promise with some recent wedge struggles and enough rounds under the belt this year, I felt the time was right to make it happen. We did it yesterday and I'm really pleased with the results.

TL;DR: I ended up fitting into and purchasing SM10's in the nickel finish in 52-12F and 58-14K (bent 1* strong) configurations, both bent 1* flat, with KBS Tour Stiff shafts and Lamkin Crossline Cord grips. I'm coming from SM9's chrome in 52-12F and 56-10S with stock DG shafts.

We started with a quick review of my game, setup and goals. I shared that I don't currently feel I'm a great wedge player, and that I try to keep the ball on the ground whenever possible (putting, rolling chips or low punch pitches). I also shared that I am not currently carrying a lob wedge and don't feel like I need it in my game, as I don't like to full swing sub sand wedge so I don't need the gapping down there, and I have a tendency to catch wedges fat and/or not hit them confidently so I often leave the lob wedge well short. I also like having the TSR2+ in there as another tee option / for additional gas on attacking par 5's. So our initial thought was to go in assuming a 52/56 setup and adjust from there.

He had me hit a few full, pitch and open face pitch shots with my clubs, then the same with the SM10's he was baselining, with stock setups. This established my delivery on these type of shots, which is neutral to slightly shallow, tending slightly shallower on the pitches than on the full shots. The fit tool recommended the 52-56 setup with 12F bounce/grind - we were seeing good distance gapping and launch angles, lower than my SM9's which was great - and then we headed out to the pitching and sand area to confirm some things.

I hit a few full shots off the grass where he confirmed that a higher bounce option is ideal for those shots, combating my tendency to get them high on the face at times. Then over to the pitching and sand area. We hit some open face pitches over a bunker with the 56 which was working out well, but I tended to fat them a bit as a miss then overcompensate with a thinny. He then handed me the 58-14K to see what happened and I was clipping it PERFECTLY. Crisp with plenty of spin on those open face shots.

In the bunker, he gave me a little mini-lesson first as I had shared I have very low confidence in the bunkers. I'll share more on that in another thread, but it really helped. Cut to the wedges, I started with the 56-12F and it was better than my wedge but I still had a tendency to dig it and not swing hard enough due to low confidence. He handed me the 58-14K and it was night and day. Everything was at least coming out of the trap, and I hit several truly good bunker shots. It's been a while since I could say that. He said the K grind is supposed to be the "ultimate sand wedge" and I can see why.

Lastly, we went back inside to the launch monitor to try one more thing. He plugged the KBS Tour in my irons into the 52* wedge and had me hit it. It worked beautifully - contact was better, spin was better and the weight blended much better with my irons. He also liked the idea of a slightly lighter weight for bunker shots, as it might encourage me to put a little more speed through the ball as that's my biggest issue. Lastly we just settled on grips, finish and details and we were all set.

So in a couple weeks, I'll have a new wedge setup in hand! Michael was a great fitter and this wedge fitting really dove in deep to how I actually use wedges, turf conditions, and my strengths and shortcomings to arrive at a good setup. Highly recommend Titleist's wedge fitting to anyone who wants to really dial in their setup. I'm sure I'll have more to report once I get them in hand as to how it's working out in practice, but I'm optimistic.

Thank you for taking the time to read my dude!

Also, that’s some GREAT info and breakdown! Look forward to how your new setup will work out for you!

 

[SkiBumGolfer]

Thank you for taking the time to read my dude!

Also, that’s some GREAT info and breakdown! Look forward to how your new setup will work out for you!

No problem and thank YOU! I am very excited to get them in play - despite being fitted for many woods and irons, this is the first time I've been fitted for wedges. It was well past time to get the right setup for my game, I'm hoping this is it!

 

[dAS0]

I'll start off by saying awesome review @Jman. I am late in reading it, but I found in my fitting yesterday the same that you did regarding progressive CG to flatten things, and class leading spin. Read on, dear friends...

I set up a fitting at my usual facility (Sittler Golf in Sinking Spring, PA) with Michael Parker from the Titleist Fit Crew. I said back tail end of last year that I would get fitted when the SM10 came out, and combine that promise with some recent wedge struggles and enough rounds under the belt this year, I felt the time was right to make it happen. We did it yesterday and I'm really pleased with the results.

TL;DR: I ended up fitting into and purchasing SM10's in the nickel finish in 52-12F and 58-14K (bent 1* strong) configurations, both bent 1* flat, with KBS Tour Stiff shafts and Lamkin Crossline Cord grips. I'm coming from SM9's chrome in 52-12F and 56-10S with stock DG shafts.

We started with a quick review of my game, setup and goals. I shared that I don't currently feel I'm a great wedge player, and that I try to keep the ball on the ground whenever possible (putting, rolling chips or low punch pitches). I also shared that I am not currently carrying a lob wedge and don't feel like I need it in my game, as I don't like to full swing sub sand wedge so I don't need the gapping down there, and I have a tendency to catch wedges fat and/or not hit them confidently so I often leave the lob wedge well short. I also like having the TSR2+ in there as another tee option / for additional gas on attacking par 5's. So our initial thought was to go in assuming a 52/56 setup and adjust from there.

He had me hit a few full, pitch and open face pitch shots with my clubs, then the same with the SM10's he was baselining, with stock setups. This established my delivery on these type of shots, which is neutral to slightly shallow, tending slightly shallower on the pitches than on the full shots. The fit tool recommended the 52-56 setup with 12F bounce/grind - we were seeing good distance gapping and launch angles, lower than my SM9's which was great - and then we headed out to the pitching and sand area to confirm some things.

I hit a few full shots off the grass where he confirmed that a higher bounce option is ideal for those shots, combating my tendency to get them high on the face at times. Then over to the pitching and sand area. We hit some open face pitches over a bunker with the 56 which was working out well, but I tended to fat them a bit as a miss then overcompensate with a thinny. He then handed me the 58-14K to see what happened and I was clipping it PERFECTLY. Crisp with plenty of spin on those open face shots.

In the bunker, he gave me a little mini-lesson first as I had shared I have very low confidence in the bunkers. I'll share more on that in another thread, but it really helped. Cut to the wedges, I started with the 56-12F and it was better than my wedge but I still had a tendency to dig it and not swing hard enough due to low confidence. He handed me the 58-14K and it was night and day. Everything was at least coming out of the trap, and I hit several truly good bunker shots. It's been a while since I could say that. He said the K grind is supposed to be the "ultimate sand wedge" and I can see why.

Lastly, we went back inside to the launch monitor to try one more thing. He plugged the KBS Tour in my irons into the 52* wedge and had me hit it. It worked beautifully - contact was better, spin was better and the weight blended much better with my irons. He also liked the idea of a slightly lighter weight for bunker shots, as it might encourage me to put a little more speed through the ball as that's my biggest issue. Lastly we just settled on grips, finish and details and we were all set.

So in a couple weeks, I'll have a new wedge setup in hand! Michael was a great fitter and this wedge fitting really dove in deep to how I actually use wedges, turf conditions, and my strengths and shortcomings to arrive at a good setup. Highly recommend Titleist's wedge fitting to anyone who wants to really dial in their setup. I'm sure I'll have more to report once I get them in hand as to how it's working out in practice, but I'm optimistic.

The outdoor fitting sounds great and I hope to get one when I am looking to get new wedges. Being fit into high bounce when your swing is shallow is interesting, but that would be the benefit of the outdoor fitting. Can't wait to hear how they perform!

 

[MarMill]

54° and 58° I am between the S and M grinds. What you guys opinions on the two.

 

[Tenputt]

54° and 58° I am between the S and M grinds. What you guys opinions on the two.

I think that one is a hard call. I would say that if you want to manipulate your wedge to manufacture shots, go with the M grind otherwise, go with the S grind.

 

[SkiBumGolfer]

The outdoor fitting sounds great and I hope to get one when I am looking to get new wedges. Being fit into high bounce when your swing is shallow is interesting, but that would be the benefit of the outdoor fitting. Can't wait to hear how they perform!

It was definitely interesting to me as well, but the results definitely spoke for themselves. I did state that I most often play in softer turf and bunker conditions, so I'm sure that influenced what he chose.

 

[Trmpt98]

I think that one is a hard call. I would say that if you want to manipulate your wedge to manufacture shots, go with the M grind otherwise, go with the S grind.

That’s what my fitter told me also but since I tend to hit shots mainly with a square face he suggest the S grind.

 

[MarMill]

I think that one is a hard call. I would say that if you want to manipulate your wedge to manufacture shots, go with the M grind otherwise, go with the S grind.

May go 54° S and 58° M

 

[Tenputt]

May go 54° S and 58° M

I think that could be real solid. That is actually what I thought I would be fit into.

 

[nostatic]

Today was the day for my Vokey fitting. I'll just start with a pic of the venue - Sandpiper Golf course in Goleta (just north of Santa Barbara). I've never been here before - gorgeous place. You can see the Titleist pop-up in the distance on the grass range.

Sunny but very windy - have a dry front moving through. Got there a bit early to stretch then met Jim my fitter. I hit some shots to warm up then we discussed where I am and my goals. Where I am is returning from a 2+ year injury layoff (elbows), and now a few month into rebuilding my swing. I'm also on the wrong side of 60 so swing speed isn't something that is going to come back - I'm just trying to be consistent with my irons and now am working on sliding my low point forward a bit. I was very curious to get some swing data as I've been doing this on my own, and figure I'm about halfway sorted.

I self-fit into my current clubs other than driver (did a fit last month - also did a fairway fit but found my guesstimate choices couldn't be beat. My current irons are ZX5s and I've been dialing my swing in with those. I decided to try a Vokey last month as I figure there is no excuse for poor wedge play. I used to have a strong short game and my losing speed shouldn't screw that up. I picked a 60M with Tensei Blue AM2 R-flex, 1/4" long, basing it on my irons which was a guesstimate based on an iron fit back in 2019. I've been working on getting flatter, which was what happened pre-injury (went from 2* upright to 1* flat over the course of 6 months).

First I hit my PW which is 44" so he had a gapping baseline. It's funny because he asked me what I hit it and I kinda shrugged my shoulders and said, "I think about 105." I hit a few and sure enough he said, "yup, 105." Then he started handing me wedges and I didn't really look at what they were. I told him I was ok with replacing my AW (which is 50*), but I was really curious what I was going to fit into. We cycled through a couple of 50* wedges, and settled on the 12F as I hit that more consistently than the 08F and the trajectory was a bit better.

Then we talked about 54 vs 56, ended up hitting both in a couple of different grinds. I was between the 54 12D and 14F, and he asked me how I used that club - and I use it everything from full swing down to chips. We landed on a 54 12D bent 1* weak, giving me 5 degrees between the 50 and my 60, and also increasing the bounce one degree but still giving me some relief from the D grind to manipulate the club. Didn't even bother hitting other 60* wedges as I hit the M well and he said that fits a lot of different conditions. He did say I should consider using that from the sand - I historically used a 54 or 56 but he said the M might surprise me.

So the deed is done:

SM10 nickel 50 12F
std lie and loft
Tensei AV Blue AM2 R-flex +1/4"
Black MCC +3 wraps

SM10 nickel 54 12D
std lie, 1* weak
Tensei AV Blue AM2 R-flex +1/4"
Black MCC +3 wraps

Those will join the 60M in the same spec. I also got some info on my swing - 3.5* down and fairly good path so seems it is headed in the right direction. I did ask when he thought about me getting into T150 and he said absolutely, but probably not beyond 7i (I'm into hybrid at that point anyway).

All-in-all a great learning experience and worth the time/money. The money part is a non-issue if you order a club as the $100 goes towards the purchase. Now I just need to get a tee time at that course, but maybe not when it's gusting to 40mph

 

[adwillingham]

After the Vokey Experience this weekend at Ballyhack, this is probably the best place for the participants to talk about the wedges from this week and ongoing as we continue to play them. Also, I know there was great information passed in that thread from the week that people may not have seen if they were not following that event.

Before posting some thoughts and information we got directly from Titleist over the weekend, here is the link to that event thread should someone want to go check out the event details and the cool happenings.

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-2024-vokey-experience-at-ballyhack.8962672/

So in summary and focusing on the Vokey Wedge perspective, eight THPers (@Canadan , @Trmpt98 , @hofstbr , @adwillingham , @eddywhitaker , @Tenputt , @GerryWithAG , and @jefe35 ) had completed Vokey specific wedge fittings for the SM10 over the past couple of months, and then these fitting results were built for us by the Titleist team so that we were each given three to four SM10 wedges at the start of the event this past Sunday. For the following two days, we played with the new clubs in the bag at Ballyhack (18 holes Monday plus 9 more holes of the Goat Track layout, then another 18 holes Tuesday). Along with us, from Titleist, we had Aaron Luttrell (Product Manager for Vokey), Malcom Herbert (Titleist Communications) and John Habegger (Vokey Wedge Fitting Specialist). These three gentlemen played with our THPers both days, fielded our questions, and on Tuesday morning gave us a wedge clinic where John and Aaron split our group and essentially gave us each individual thought processes of how to use the specific loft and grind combinations we were fit for. We were also treated to a very special video call with Aaron Dill (PGA Tour Rep for Vokey Wedges), Corey Gerrard (Marketing Director of Vokey Wedges), and THE Bob Vokey where we were told cool stories and were able to ask questions. The thread above will have all the details from the event, but thought anyone reading just this thread should have the brief synopsis.

I know several of the guys have come into this thread and posted their fitting stories in the past couple of months, but there are now eight more owners/users of Vokey SM10 wedges that can help offer ongoing thoughts or help with questions in this thread.

 

[adwillingham]

As a quick background, I have been playing Callaway Wedges for about the last 10 years (MD2, then MD3, and most recently MD4). I have a preference for darker wedge finishes, and playing in Bermuda grass I have gravitated toward higher bounce offerings in a 50, 54, and 58 combination. In my game, the 50 and 54 degree wedges were predominantly used for full shots only, and pretty much the 58 was used around the green or out of sand, and rarely for anything more than say a mid range pitch. That said, I had never been fit nor had really considered being fit for wedges before, although I have been fit here in there for the other clubs in my bag.

I have obviously been aware of Vokey wedges and the impressive performance they have given users for quite some time, but other than a 60 degree out of a used bin many years back (pre Spin Milled I believe), I have not played them myself.

I guess other than that, for people I have not encountered, I have been around THP a longer time, but have not played many rounds of golf in the past 5 years or so due to work obligations (just a few rounds per year, leading to an improved SIX rounds last year ). I typically shoot in the 95 range these days, consider myself decent (for that score level) with a wedge and driver is my biggest problem area.

Ok, with all that said, below is my fitting experience with the SM10 Vokey Wedges...from April 1st, 2024:

Just got back from traveling to my fitting up in Knoxville at Willow Creek Golf Club. Titleist fitter Trey Roy was on site there today for some public fittings of various Titleist lines using a Trackman to accumulate data to help with the fitting analysis. We were set up at the end of their driving range with access to a nice little chipping green with some various slopes.

While he let me warm up for a few minutes, he looked at my current clubs to get an idea of what irons, shafts, and lofts I was trying to tie into as well as how I currently have my wedges setup, and we talked a bit about how I traditionally use each one. He them had me hit my current PW and my 50 and 54 wedges so he could confirm my gapping in the clubs I use for full swings. I was glad to see him getting the numbers on Trackman that match what I expect to see on those as a baseline.

I told him I was just going to hit what he handed me shaft and grind wise and trust the process...that my only real preferences were that I wanted to get the Nickel finish and preferred to have a 58 as the highest lofted wedge. With that, he started handing me clubs for full swings to start getting a picture of my swing and what it needed.

For reference, I had stock shafts in my MD4 wedges, and have been fitted twice to the KBS Tour V Regular flex - 105 grams which I use in my irons. He tried me in a couple different shafts and we quickly landed on the True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 in the R300 flex as the best option which was giving me a really nice flight just felt great.

We then moved over to the chipping green and he had me hit a few with my existing wedges and then with about 4-5 different Vokeys so he could see those movements and what kind of grind would work best for me...we did this from a couple different angles with an uphill shot then a level one. From these, I could tell that the sound and spin off these Vokeys was going to be a nice improvement off my MD4s.

Finally, he came up with a combination of lofts and grinds the though would suit me best and had me hit a couple 54s and a couple 58s to a target about 30 yards away. Main takeaway from the swing observations was that he was pleased with the neutral delivery of the club head into the ball and fit me into the below (all 1 deg upright and +0.25 in length).

SM10 Nickel - 50.12 F Grind bent to 49 degrees for better gapping to PW
SM10 Nickel - 54.12 D Grind
SM10 Nickel - 58.08 M Grind

As a comparison, the online tool suggested 48.10 F, 54.12 D, and 58.14 K based on my answers...I'm apparently not as much of a digger as I led the online tool to believe

We got the order entered with my normal Midsize Winn Dry Tac grips and he sent the information over to Jacquelyn. We didn't talk about personalization options like stamping (which I'm kind of ambivalent about).

Overall, I was with Trey for right at an hour, and it was clear he was very observant and knowledgeable about the Vokey lineup. We talked about the event, and he was amazed at the opportunity that was being presented to us. He remembered working with a THPer for in the past for a Titleist Driver or FW event. I really enjoyed this part of the process and can't wait to get the final setups in hand at Ballyhack...I think they are going to be outstanding replacements for my current wedges and provide me more options around the green than I feel I have currently.

 

[bsbmike5]

As a quick background, I have been playing Callaway Wedges for about the last 10 years (MD2, then MD3, and most recently MD4). I have a preference for darker wedge finishes, and playing in Bermuda grass I have gravitated toward higher bounce offerings in a 50, 54, and 58 combination. In my game, the 50 and 54 degree wedges were predominantly used for full shots only, and pretty much the 58 was used around the green or out of sand, and rarely for anything more than say a mid range pitch. That said, I had never been fit nor had really considered being fit for wedges before, although I have been fit here in there for the other clubs in my bag.

I have obviously been aware of Vokey wedges and the impressive performance they have given users for quite some time, but other than a 60 degree out of a used bin many years back (pre Spin Milled I believe), I have not played them myself.

I guess other than that, for people I have not encountered, I have been around THP a longer time, but have not played many rounds of golf in the past 5 years or so due to work obligations (just a few rounds per year, leading to an improved SIX rounds last year ). I typically shoot in the 95 range these days, consider myself decent (for that score level) with a wedge and driver is my biggest problem area.

Ok, with all that said, below is my fitting experience with the SM10 Vokey Wedges...from April 1st, 2024:

Just got back from traveling to my fitting up in Knoxville at Willow Creek Golf Club. Titleist fitter Trey Roy was on site there today for some public fittings of various Titleist lines using a Trackman to accumulate data to help with the fitting analysis. We were set up at the end of their driving range with access to a nice little chipping green with some various slopes.

While he let me warm up for a few minutes, he looked at my current clubs to get an idea of what irons, shafts, and lofts I was trying to tie into as well as how I currently have my wedges setup, and we talked a bit about how I traditionally use each one. He them had me hit my current PW and my 50 and 54 wedges so he could confirm my gapping in the clubs I use for full swings. I was glad to see him getting the numbers on Trackman that match what I expect to see on those as a baseline.

I told him I was just going to hit what he handed me shaft and grind wise and trust the process...that my only real preferences were that I wanted to get the Nickel finish and preferred to have a 58 as the highest lofted wedge. With that, he started handing me clubs for full swings to start getting a picture of my swing and what it needed.

For reference, I had stock shafts in my MD4 wedges, and have been fitted twice to the KBS Tour V Regular flex - 105 grams which I use in my irons. He tried me in a couple different shafts and we quickly landed on the True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 in the R300 flex as the best option which was giving me a really nice flight just felt great.

We then moved over to the chipping green and he had me hit a few with my existing wedges and then with about 4-5 different Vokeys so he could see those movements and what kind of grind would work best for me...we did this from a couple different angles with an uphill shot then a level one. From these, I could tell that the sound and spin off these Vokeys was going to be a nice improvement off my MD4s.

Finally, he came up with a combination of lofts and grinds the though would suit me best and had me hit a couple 54s and a couple 58s to a target about 30 yards away. Main takeaway from the swing observations was that he was pleased with the neutral delivery of the club head into the ball and fit me into the below (all 1 deg upright and +0.25 in length).

SM10 Nickel - 50.12 F Grind bent to 49 degrees for better gapping to PW
SM10 Nickel - 54.12 D Grind
SM10 Nickel - 58.08 M Grind

As a comparison, the online tool suggested 48.10 F, 54.12 D, and 58.14 K based on my answers...I'm apparently not as much of a digger as I led the online tool to believe

We got the order entered with my normal Midsize Winn Dry Tac grips and he sent the information over to Jacquelyn. We didn't talk about personalization options like stamping (which I'm kind of ambivalent about).

Overall, I was with Trey for right at an hour, and it was clear he was very observant and knowledgeable about the Vokey lineup. We talked about the event, and he was amazed at the opportunity that was being presented to us. He remembered working with a THPer for in the past for a Titleist Driver or FW event. I really enjoyed this part of the process and can't wait to get the final setups in hand at Ballyhack...I think they are going to be outstanding replacements for my current wedges and provide me more options around the green than I feel I have currently.

Appreciate the insight!

I love that you trusted the process of the fitter, and let the results lead the way during the fitting. Great to see the gapping data with Trackman to make sure everything lined up.

Did you feel any adjustment to playing wedges at Ballyhack coming from Bermuda grass normally? I'm sure we'll get some more insight about your typical conditions now that you're back home! Interesting to see the difference from the tool to real life on the 58 too!

 

[adwillingham]

With all that background out of the way, let me include some interesting things I heard from both our event and @Canadan 's great conversation with Aaron Dill and Kevin Tassistro on the Off Course podcast (link below) as it relates to the SM10 and Vokey Wedges in general. These won't necessarily all be on this post or today in general...just wanted to get the conversation started as it was fresh in mind and new information to me at least.

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/index.php?threads/vokey-sm10-wedges-go-off-course.8960581/

• The SM10 release removed the Brushed Steel finish of the SM9 and replaced it with the Nickel finish of the SM10 as a new finish that color-wise is right in between the Chrome and Jet Black finishes.
• There are 25 SKUs (Loft, Bounce, Grind) combinations sold at retail, with others available or potentially coming for online sales or through Wedgeworks.
• At retail, I believe, they said the SM9 finish distribution sold were 50% Chrome, 25% Brushed Steel, and 25% Jet Black.
• When I asked the question this week, in the context too of 7 of the 8 of us receiving Nickel finish, I was told that for the SM10 the Nickel finish is outselling Brushed Steel and taking some percentage from both Chrome and Jet Black (although I believe it was said Chrome is still the number 1 finish sold retail).
• On tour, the Raw finish is most common, and one of the reasons is that without the finish, the wedges don't have any difference in coloring if Aaron Dill and team do further grinding on the existing grind molds that they keep on hand, whereas if a tour player would want additional grinding on one of the retail finishes, it would expose the raw metal where that grinding was done, and just have a visual difference in those spots.
• Being a wedge information novice, I didn't realize that the grind options that they have now built castings for (and in turn are sold at retail) were generally scenarios where Mr. Vokey had been asked in years past to manually create the grinds enough times by tour player feedback that they had labeled them and eventually cast them directly in those grinds to broaden the availability and reduce the manual work.
• Apparently, a discussion happens each release cycle (2 year cycle) on what their loft/grind matrix is going to be for that release.

More later or in coming days...but again, wanted to start getting these things out of my brain and on to the forum.

 

[nostatic]

SM10 Nickel - 50.12 F Grind bent to 49 degrees for better gapping to PW
SM10 Nickel - 54.12 D Grind
SM10 Nickel - 58.08 M Grind

As a comparison, the online tool suggested 48.10 F, 54.12 D, and 58.14 K based on my answers...I'm apparently not as much of a digger as I led the online tool to believe

The online tool suggested 50.12F, 54.10S, 60.08M. In person was 50.12F, 54.12D (bent 1* weak), 60.08M. In person the comment was that bounce was my friend.

 

[nostatic]

Last two pieces (for now - ha!) of the puzzle delivered today so it was off to the range. My initial findings - of note, my fitting was done with steel shafts (lightest they had) so there was a little bit of a question on how different it would feel as the weight and load profile of the Tensei Blue AM2 is different. I already had the 60M with that shaft so I had an idea but you don't know until you hit them.

50.12F - I hit this back to back with my ZX5 AW. Comparable results though after a couple of swings I was more consistent with the Vokey. I put part of this down to the shaft - the ZX5 has a Dart 65R which is pretty light. The AM2 is probably 15-20g heavier so it helps with timing. This thing hit like a dream full swing, and I could hit it high or knock it down low depending on where I put the ball in my stance. Maybe 5 yards longer than the ZX5.

55.13D - tbh I struggled with this after first doing full swings. I was just all over the place - which is odd because I full swing my 60M just fine. I adjourned to the pitching green and hit some half swings and figured it out, then went back to some full swings. With that club, at least at this point, I need to set up with the ball just a bit out towards the toe rather than dead center. Then life is good. I also need to remember not to overswing the club, which is a bit of a constant battle for me but for whatever reason is magnified with this club. Gorilla CRUSH wedge...

Then to the chipping green. Here is where the 55.13D won big time. While I have gotten really comfortable with the 60M around the green, for short chips where you have to run it, the D grind really works for me. And in a pinch I can open it up and hit a flop type shot as well. Also hit it from the bunker - everything got out (and none of them went 50 yards

At any rate, couldn't be happier and I'm glad I went full stubborn to the mindset of "no excuse for hitting poor wedge shots." Of course some clinkers still pop out, but of all the elements of my game rebuilding back after the layoff, I can say short game is the least of my worries. Now to ponder that T150 9i and maybe a TSR2 7W because Titleist

 

[Trmpt98]

So I'm two (9) hole rounds into my new SM10's after the Vokey Experience and they are working as advertised. I was fit into the 50(F)12, the 54(S)10 and the 58(K)14.

The biggest part of my game where I struggle is the sand game. Luckily I had John from Vokey giving me a small lesson and now it's a mental game for me. The 58 K grind is perfect for that aspect of my game. It allows me to set up with a more square face and when I actually commit to my swing and don't decelerate and stop the ball comes right out. I've had two shots on Wednesday that required this shot and the club slid right under the sand and popped out, now of course I still wasn't swinging as hard as I needed to but it worked!

The 50 (F) has been perfect for my 110ish full shots but I have also been using it as my bump and run club around the greens. This has been working perfect and I almost holed one on Wednesday.

As for the 54 (S), I'm using this for shots around the green and full shots from around 85/90 yards and it has some stopping power. I'm going to be working on using the bounce of the club and opening up the club face to see if I can add some additional shots to my arsenal.